The New Teacher Magazine

Teacher Magazine has a new lookand a new editorial focus. Now in more compact format, it's designed to give teacher-leaders actionable advice and tools and information they need to spur reformas well as great stories. Each issue will explore an important theme in education, starting this month with the Achievement Issue. Out Web site has also been extensively redesigned to provide enhanced usability, an expanded range of resources, and new interactive features.

So, what do you think of the new Teacher? Does it serve your needs? What you would like to see more ofor less of?

6 Comments

I'd like to offer whatever services I can to make the findings from education research more available and useful to teachers and administrators. As a communicator at the Wisconsin Center for Education Research, I'm interested in making our federally funded research findings easier to find and easier to use. Our web site is one vehicle: www.wcer.wisc.edu
And as a communicator, I'm interested in using new communication technologies and promoting their benefits to educators responsible for communicating with their constituent groups. I blog about this at http://pbaker.wordpress.com

Editors: I have drafted the basic mission of primary and secondary "schooling":
PREPARING GRADUATES FOR SUCCESS IN 1. QUALITY JOBS AND CAREERS, 2. ADVANED TRAINING OR HIGHER EDUCATION, AND 3. PARTICIPATION/CONTRIBUTIONS TO SELF AND ANY ASPECT OF DOMESTIC AND WORLD SOCIETIES.
If we can agree on this, we must also agree that our schooling (curricula, teaching..) is today demonstrably failing in this desired preparation of most of our students (youngsters and even adults, including many college graduates.)
Moreover, we can't expect teachers to teach topics which even their professors in the colleges of education have never been exposed to. So new approaches to enriched curricula, teacher training and development are essential. (I have a list of practical recommendations.)
And by the way, honesty in research and reporting is essential.
For example, smaller classes have been repeatedly proven to be cost-INEFFECTIVE and enormously wasteful. For example, a 33% reduction in class size (numbes of teachers and classrooms..)costs more than a 50% increase in teachers' salaries and benefits! Besides, decreases in the qualities of new hires have also been experienced by a number of practicing states and school systems.
You should be eager to pursue this discussion on making MAJOR (not just marginal) IMPROVEMENTS in our effectiveness of student preparation. Are you really interested in pursuing this?
I can be reached at [email protected]
John Shacter, semi-retired engineer, manager, and still very active educator.

I am thrilled that you are focusing on teacher leadership. I've worked in this area for the last 15 years and finally people are aware of teacher leadership. Your publication will only help to increase this recognition of teacher leadership.

Your recognition that teacher leaders are key to continuous improvement and reform in education made my day! Having worked with development of teacher leaders since the early 1990's, I am amazed by the impact teachers can have in their own schools and districts when they truly begin to believe in themselves as leaders and gain knowledge and leadership competencies. Your publication has the potential to arm these leaders with knowledge of research and your web site to provide a forum for interaction. Thanks!!

Hey guys, I don't know if you'll remember me but I used to work on the research team (2002-2004). I just wanted to say that I LOVE the new site--it's really easy to navigate and it looks really sharp. And I think focusing on teacher leadership is a superb way to organize your content and shape your message. Much of the work happening at the Vermont Department of Education centers on supporting teacher leadership...so I will make sure to pass along the news of your new site and focus to my colleagues and to the field.

I got your magazine in my box at school the other day and thumbed through it. I was appaled by your story on page 12 of the August/September issue. You highlight David Lynch's instruction of 500 students and 50 teachers in how to meditate. Will you next be highlighting an individual training teachers and students to to say "The Lord's Prayer?" Just because it comes from Buddhism doesn't make it less of a violation of the first ammendment and the seperation of Church and State. A magazine directed at imporving our teaching and not spreading a faith should have higher standards in the articles selected. Please don't give us ideas that in their implemenation will obviously lose any court challenge.